Mr. G. R. Brown came to the United States from his native country
Bavaria, Germany, at age 21 in March 1868. He left his native
country to avoid serving in the German army. He felt that the
compulsory service was not right and felt he could live his life
better in America. Landing in New York, he soon moved south to New
Orleans, Louisiana, where he worked in the vast sugar mills and
acquainted himself with the sugar industry. Drifting to Texas, he
arrived in Columbus, Texas, in Colorado County, where he acquired
his United States citizenship papers on September 13, 1871. While in
Columbus he met and married his wife, Miss Mary Ellen McWilliams, in
1872. She was a native of Hannibal, Missouri. When Mr. Brown
received his citizenship papers, he asked and had his original
(birth) name Von Braun changed to Brown. Braun in German means Brown
in English.

After his marriage he moved to Matagorda County.
During his first years in Matagorda County, he lived in Pledger,
Texas and served as Matagorda County Commissioner. He served in this
office and was also Postmaster in Pledger while living there, when
Matagorda, Texas was still the county seat. After his term expired
he bought 200 acres of land in Sugar Valley from Dr. J. W. Brown (no
relation). They built their home under the large oak trees just
across county road 1728 from where Walter Brown's home is located.
Mr. Brown's grandson, W. A. Brown, son of Walter and Reba Brown, has
his home there now. The land is along Caney Creek, which had
received its name from the endless cane brakes along the creek. It
was here that he began his life as an American citizen in 1896.

Mr. and Mrs. G. R. Brown had six children:
Theodore Brown, born June 25, 1873; Raymond Brown, born July 18,
1875; Beulah Brown born November 1, 1878; Lizzie Brown, born August
25, 1881; Walter Alfred Brown, born June 2, 1884; and Mary Brown,
born March 3, 1888.

Mr. G. R. Brown, Sr. was an architect and worked
for Anderson Clayton cotton company for a number of years. He was an
inventor and obtained a patent for several inventions, among them
being a press for round bales of cotton, made like a roll of paper;
a percentage scale and a poison for leaf worms on cotton.

Mr. Brown and his eldest son, Theodore, began
collecting machinery with the hope of opening a sugar syrup mill.
The brick for the buildings came from the Bouldin plantation on
Caney Creek just left of the "S" curve between Sugar Valley and Van
Vleck on State Highway 35. By 1904 the mill was ready for operation.
The mill had been in operation only a few years when in 1909
Matagorda County's worst hurricane in history destroyed the brick
building housing the mill's machinery. The mill was repaired and was
again in operation .

The cane used for the processing of the sugar was
grown in the immediate area and on other plantations. Mr. Brown
named his place "Sugar Valley." All of the cane was harvested by
hand by field hands who used a cane knife with a 20-inch long blade.
The blade had a hook on the end to hold cane so the harvesters would
not have to stoop.

After the syrup was made it was put in one
gallon, one-half gallon and five gallon containers. For one order
the syrup was run into a railroad tank car. The syrup was shipped by
rail from Sugar Valley to towns in North Texas.

Syrup sold by the tank car was bought for 21
cents per gallon wholesale. Near the close of the mill, syrup had
risen in price to $1.50 per gallon.

The mill continued to operate until 1922. There
were two causes for closing the mill: first, the cane borers which
destroyed the crops; and second, the death of Mr. Brown. The mill
was in operation for about twenty years and was profitable because
of its location. The machinery and buildings were sold in 1922.
There was no trace remaining but the memories in the minds of those
who lived in the Sugar Valley area.

The mill was located on FM 1728 twelve miles
northeast of Bay City and five miles from Van Vleck. It was the
known as "cane run."

Mr. George Raymond Brown's family were well to
do, well educated and were connected with the government in Germany.
His family lost everything during World War I.

(Information for this article was furnished by
Mr. Brown's granddaughter, Margery May Brown Noster, of Bay City,
Texas and his grandson, Jack Odell Brown, of Sugar Valley. Most of
the information came from letters, papers and the family Bible.
Other sources include The New Encyclopedia of Texas, 1936,
page 1665 and a signed interview with Margery Brown Noster on August
17, 1984.)